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The festival, which is a celebration of local and national comedic talent, takes place from 26th October to 9th November at various venues throughout Hull.

Highlights include shows from stand-up Stewart Lee, Russell Howard, John Shuttleworth, Frank Sidebottom and Justin Moorhouse. Other well-known performers include Lucy Porter, Trevor Lock and Ivan Brackenbury.

Local talent include The Hull Blokes, Masked Dan, The Live Naked Idiots and Andy Train amongst other local performers.

Organisers say there is a demand for live comedy in the city and are hoping the festival will become an annual event.

John Gilbert, festival organiser

“There have been several comedy clubs that have been tried in the city before with varied success.” said festival organiser John Gilbert. “When we started to put the festival together there weren't any.

"There were comedy groups operating within the area and Hull Truck is well-known for hosting comedy events but now we're getting regular comedy clubs in the city, and I think the festival has had a bit of a part to play in this.

"There’s a fortnightly one at Pave, Dirty Nellie’s has one every month and I know of several others that are looking at it.

“I think we're going to see much more comedy nights popping up as a result of this festival.” added John.

Hull Comedy Festival: Friday 26th October to Friday 9th November 2007